The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "cancer" ...
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Secrets of the System
The Wall Street Journal showed how mining Medicare claims can expose waste and potential fraud in the $500 billion government health program.
Tags: Medicare; cancer; Medicare abuse; cost; doctors
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Polluted Mashavera
The documentary examines the pollution caused by a Georgian gold mining company. Fruits and vegetables grown nearby and exposed to the pollution are being sold all over Georgia. There may be a link between the mining and the growing number of people in the region with cancer.
Tags: environment; cancer; pollution; gold mining; international
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Up In Smoke
The series was dealing with the “proliferation of medical marijuana clinics in Los Angeles”. The series revealed “a loophole inadvertently included in legislation passed by the Los Angeles City Council which allowed hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries to open with no oversight”. Further, the council was unwilling or unable to control the problem they had knowledge about.
Tags: FOIA; City government; Oaksterdam University; cash crop; entrepreneurs; medical purposes; cancer; AIDS; glaucoma
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"Schoool Radon"
The state of Pennsylvania does not require schools to test for radon, a cancer-causing chemical. In fact, the majority of school districts in the western part of the state had not "done any radon testing." Testing in other districts registered levels many times higher than the "EPA maximum safe level." One district that tested positive for radon did not share the information with parents.
Tags: Howe Elementary; Mount Lebanon; Gateway school district; Aliquippa; Allegheny County; Beaver County; Rochester; EPA
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"A Toxin in the Air"
Toxic emissions have been found near natural gas facilities in the Barnett Shale in Texas, an area that spreads out over 15 counties. Originally, the emission were believed to be non-harmful, but recent testing reveals "high level of benzene, a cancer-causing toxin." WFAA also reveals a major "lack of oversight" of "drilling in the Barnett Shale."
Tags: Barnett Shale; Fort Worth; environmental agency; benzene; natural gas; Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; TCEQ; North Central Texas Communities Alliance; Al Armendariz
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Agent Orange: A Lethal Legacy
This investigation reveals the high costs and consequences of herbicides, such as Agent Orange, used by the US military during the Vietnam War. Not only are the veterans suffering from the consequences of herbicides, but also the children of these veterans. These children suffer from multiple cancers, birth defects, and other conditions. The conditions have increased the financial compensation for the US veterans and their families. Furthermore, the US government has neglected to discover the impact of these herbicides on health and environmental conditions.
Tags: US military; Vietnam War; US government; government; health; birth defects; defoliants; financial compensation; disability; veterans; families; US Department of Veterans Affairs
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3F Members Die Prematurely
The story investigated the death records of all members of the union 3F (unskilled workers) and compared this mortality rate to standard mortality rates for the population as a whole. The aim was to see which union members had higher (or lower) mortality rates, and which causes of death were higher and lower compared to the population on the whole.
Tags: mortality; death rates; union workers; unskilled workers; 3F; mortality rates; lung cancer; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; COPD; accidents; heart disease
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Carmelo Rodriguez Story
Carmelo Rodriguez was a marine who said his skin cancer was misdiagnosed while he was serving in Iraq. The Carmelo Rodriguez story raises disturbing questions about the care that military doctors give to servicemen and women, and it presses the issue of whether soldiers should be able to sue the federal government for medical malpractice, which is not currently allowed.
Tags: Carmelo Rodriguez; health care; veterans; military; Iraq; misdiagnosis; malpractice;
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The Evidence Gap
The nations' medical bill last year exceeded $2.7 trillin -- nearly as much as the projected total cost of the Iraq war. If it were medical money well spend, there might be few cries to "reform" the American health care system. But by some estimates, one-third or more of the medical care received by patients in this country may be virtually worthless. The nation is wasting hundreds of billions of dollars each year on superfluous treatments -- money that otherwise could by spent, for example , on providing health insurance for every child, woman and man int his country who currently have no coverage. A team of science and business reporters from The New York Times set out to explain how and why the United States is spending so much on health care with so relatively little to show for the money, They discovered a gaping chasm between scientific evidence and the practice of medicine. In an in-depth series of articles, told through real doctors and patients, and based on information they dug up that was frequently unflattering to medical providers, companies and regulators, the Times team documented many disturbing instances of "The Evidence Gap."
Tags: health care; CT angiograms; Avastin; cancer treatment; reckless spending; Food and Drug Administration; mammograms
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Hospital Corruption: "Salaries First, Patients Last"; "Hospital Secrets"
The series exposed Schneider Regional Medical Center's top executives' self-dealing and lavish pay, perks and the tragic result: The public hospital's cancer center was left so cash-strapped it could not pay for medicine and radiation equipment. The Daily News also revealed that more than $2.4 million in charity donations to the hospital's cancer center is missing, and the hospital cannot produce documentation to explain the numerous large withdrawals from bank accounts and entities that were specifically created to receive those donations. The investigation also found that two top hospital executives had criminal records, which were not disclosed when they were hired.
Tags: health care; hospital administration; corruption; embezzlement; chemotherapy and radiation; Virgin Islands